Total retail sales rose 0.8% (4.6% y/y) during October
following two months of 0.1% decline, revised from slight increases. A 0.5% rise had been expected in
the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, retail
sales increased 0.7% after an unrevised 0.1% fall. A 0.5% improvement had been expected.
A measure of the underlying pace of retail spending is nonauto sales growth excluding
gasoline and building materials. These sales rose 0.3% in October (4.5% y/y), the same as in September.